A man was arrested Wednesday after officers witnessed him damaging trees in the park, police said in a weekly newsletter distributed by the department's Richmond Station.
The man's name has not been released, but police said they had "been searching for him for some time."
Investigators did not say whether they believe the man is responsible for all of the vandalism, which has damaged more than 200 trees in the park since last September.
The vandal or vandals targeted young trees in sections of the park marked as undergoing reforestation. The damage has cost the city at least $50,000, park officials said.
San Francisco Recreation and Park officials were not immediately available to comment on the vandalism arrest.
